Thursday, June 30, 2011 - Computer Day

Thought we might get a ride in today, but we slept so late (perfect sleeping temperature!), and got busy on the internet (I have a better signal here than I had in Maryland!), trying to finally resolve our accommodation challenges for our next stop. Also had a call from a potential client about a possible date, and I had to do some work on that. Frankly, too tired after our long day yesterday to ride, so we settled in for a long day of work and rest. Met the neighbors and started to inquire about hay, we’re getting low and there isn’t much on craigslist, so I thought a local source might be good. Finally met a guy names Keith who found some for us. It seems there’s been a really wet spring, and everyone’s hay either got rained on or didn’t get cut until way past prime, so it’s scarce. Nevertheless, this source has last years cut for just $2.50/bale, hoping the horses will like it, but beggars can’t be choosers at this point. Gorgeous day, though, sunny, mid-70’s, absolutely perfect!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011 - Long Drive Day to Six Nations Horse Camp, Tyrone, NY

Woke to the alarm early, then finished packing up and we were out by just after 8:30. By the time we dumped and were headed out it was close to 9:00. Stopped to pick up breakfast about a half hour later, then headed almost due north for the next six hours, stopping for fuel twice, to top off before getting to New York State, as their prices appear to be about twenty cents per gallon higher than in Pennsylvania. Arrived at just about 5:00, discovering that quite a few people were already here, a big change from the empty horse camp that was in Maryland. We cast around for a spot, and finally settled on one that was right next to a spigot and that seems to have a built up, level gravel parking pad, perfect for the RV even if it rains. Some parts of the camp are a bit slope-y, so this was a good spot. The trees for the highline were a bit close together, so the horses won’t have as much room to walk around as usual, but if no one comes in across from us over the weekend, we may move them over to some other trees closer to the edge of the woods where we can put a longer line. It’s a lovely spot. There’s a fire tower in the middle of the area, pavilions, cabins, and a bathroom with running water, though no showers. Really nice, and the most incredible thing is that it’s free! You gotta love that! Looking forward to checking out the trails here, the maps show over 40 miles of trails that we hope to have time to explore. As things stand now, we’ll probably be here for about two weeks, though there is another place not far away I may want to check out before heading north again. The weather is a good 15 degrees coolers, so we changed from shorts to sweats before the evening was through. Sun didn’t set until way after 9:00, with twilight lasting till almost 10:00! I’d forgotten how long the days were at this latitute! Tired though, after the long day, so heading to be soon.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011 - Laundry and Prep Day

Our original plan had been to leave today, head out to New York State in one long drive, but not surprisingly, we were both too tired from our day yesterday, and had too many chores to do in preparation of the drive, plus the weather forecast called for a 60 percent chance of rain today, both here and at our destination. So we decided to spend the day getting ready, doing laundry and a few chores. Hubby also had to run back to Alexandria to pick up a package we forgot to get yesterday. We were able to get almost everything packed up at a leisurely pace, so we should be able to get out nice and early tomorrow, which we’ll need for the long day.

Monday, June 27, 2011 - Work Day

Worked with a new client in Alexandria all day today.

Sunday, June 26, 2011 - Day Off and Prep Day

Spent the day getting ready for our work day tomorrow, and resting after our long ride yesterday.

Saturday, June 25, 2011 - Third Ride Day at Cedarville SP

With one more ride left here, and a day to recover before our Monday job, we decided to make it a long ride today. Heading out the Orange Trail counterclockwise again, we did the White Trail counterclockwise, which was the reverse of what we had done on Wednesday, then took the big side of the Blue loop counterclockwise as well. The Blue trail turned out to be the prettiest trail yet, very woodsy and charming. Again, we did lots of trots and canters today, with the horses really getting into it, seemingly preferring the faster pace than a simple walk. Hubby just seems to want to trot like crazy lately, it seems he’s getting ready for some longer and faster trails! Must be the longer days of summer getting to him! A fabulous day, we are truly loving this park, happy that we’ve found a great base for whenever we have to be in D.C. Looking forward to our next trip here, so we can start to discover some of the more off-the-beaten-track trails that aren’t on the map. Another great ride today!

Friday, June 24, 2011 - Second Ride Day at Cedarville SP

Decided to take the entire Orange Trail loop clockwise today. Not as nice as the other trails we’ve taken so far, quite a few parts of it go through some areas that have been cleared in recent years, so it was more open and less "forest-y." We did have a lot of chances to jog and canter, which was lots of fun, and the 7 mile trail was just the right length for what we were in the mood for. Still a nice ride, great footing, and a great day!

Thursday, June 23, 2011 - More Work

Had planned on riding today, but ended up having to run out to do some shopping and other errands and chores and ran out of time.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - Work Day

Spent the day on the computer trying to make arrangements for our various requirements in July in upstate New York, and doing chores around the house. Otherwise a rare ordinary day.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - Ride Day at Cedarville SP

Slept late again, which was much needed, then had breakfast and headed out on the trail. I’ve read good things on the internet about the trails here, so our expectations were high, and I have to say, we weren’t disappointed! The trails are mostly dirt with a few pebbled areas, numerous bridges and boardwalks over streams and muddy areas, excellent trail markings, and my Trailsource map was accurate, though there are a number of unmarked trails and roads that go off the marked trails (fodder for another day’s ride, though that day may be on future trip here). We took the Orange Trail counter clockwise to the White Trail loop, then a short bit up the Blue trail back to the Orange and back to the camp. Did some nice jogging, trying to continue to improve our horses’ conditioning. Loved, loved, loved the trails, really enjoyed the day. This place is a well-kept secret that deserves more notice!

Monday, June 20, 2011 - Rest Day

Slept late, napped in the afternoon, did little today except get registered for the week, the result of a lengthy and (at last) positive conversation with the local manager, who had to clear it with HIS boss before agreeing to honor the senior discount, at least for the weekdays. Everything else was a mundane day, just what we needed to recharge our batteries. Looking forward to a ride tomorrow!

Sunday, June 19, 2011 - Travel Day to Cedarville State Forest

Up bright and early, got out in a flash this morning, anxious to get back into a shady forest before the temps get too high. Had to stop at a Walmart in Clinton, MD to get a prescription filled, did a little shopping, had lunch at the McDonalds there, then went shopping at the Safeway up the street. Stopped once for gas in the generator tanks, then finally got into the park around 4:00. Contrary to what I had been told on the phone the week before, which was that reservations weren’t necessary because the equestrian campground was empty, the woman ranger that found us about to drive past the closed ranger station said the campgrounds are kept locked unless they’re expecting someone, once again compounding the feeling of being a criminal until proven otherwise. Anyway, she was nice enough to open up and get us registered, though I only paid for one night because she didn’t want to honor Hubby’s senior rate, and their normal charge was a bit higher than we had expected, particularly since they don’t really have any amenities here. No electric, and the only outlet for water was at the dump station (which was brown, despite assurances it was potable), and from the bath house, which required every hose we had to reach. No horse facilities, we just highlined them on a couple of trees. The place was empty, though it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why. Have read in a few places on the internet that the trails here are good, so we’re looking forward to checking those out soon. Hoping a converation with the head honcho tomorrow will yield a suitable discount, all things considered.

Saturday, June 18, 2011 - Travel Day back to Maryland

This time our town car showed up on time, having been arranged through the concierge at the Embassy, and we made it in plenty of time. Didn’t need a meal after our breakfast at the hotel, just got a cup of coffee before flying back to National. Good to be out of the heat, though it was starting to warm up a bit here, too. Picked up the dogs (our sitter had already fallen in love with them, she seemed inordinately sad to see them go), arrived back and visited with the horses, who had obviously enjoyed the big field they had been running around in, but we could tell they were starting to get bored and were looking to get back on the road too. Unpacked everything and went to be early, looking to get out of here as early as possible. Strange thing about Maryland so far, everyone seems to have the attitude that everyone’s out to take something from you, so you get a feeling of guilty until proven innocent. We keep feeling like we have to prove we’re good people, not that we’re out to take advantage of anyone. Frankly, we’re looking forward to heading north, but that’s not going to happen for another week. More work scheduled here for now!

Friday, June 17, 2011 - Work and Play Day

The morning was spent working with our client, then in the afternoon we took a walk to a nearby shopping area, where I bought and sent a birthday card to my brother. We wandered through a couple of clothing stores but found nothing of interest, then headed back to the hotel, where we once again headed down to the pool and spa area for a bit, grateful for the opportunity to relax, despite the heat. It’s been really windy since we’ve been here, too, reminding me of Colorado last year when the wind just never seemed to quit! Job done, looking forward to getting back on the road.

Thursday, June 16, 2011 - Work Day

Spent the day working with our clients, a full-day seminar that is to be completed tomorrow. Also too another hot tub, well worth the effort after a long day on my feet!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011 - Rest Day

After all of the stress of the last week, we were relieved to have a day off. We hung out at the pool and hot tub for a while, then got a shuttle to a nearby grocery store and picked up groceries for the duration. Napped a bit in the afternoon, then walked over to Bombay Pizza for a meal, an odd but wonderful thin/nan crusted concoctions with all the Indian flavors sitting on top. Combined with an order of sweet potato fries, we enjoyed it immensely, and still took half the pizza back with us for later. A very relaxing day.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - Travel Day to Houston

Woke to the alarm again, packed up, grabbed coffee to go, dropped the dogs off at just after 10:00, no problem with traffic, made it to National Airport in plenty of time. Grabbed a quick breakfast at the Dunkin Donuts in the main hall of the airport before heading through security. No metal detectors here, everyone goes through the scanner of gets patted down. In fact, even after going through the scanner the woman started to pat me down around my thigh area. As I was wearing a dress, I quickly started to lift my dress, offering to show her everything she needed to see (which I prefer to being physically searched anyway) and she immediately stopped and let me pass. It’s getting ridiculous really, that we are all treated like criminals, and they waste all our resources NOT profiling those who are out to kill us. Anyway, that’s another rant. The flight was uneventful, though when we arrived, the town car I had arranged failed to show up, and when I called them they claimed they though the order was for 7:30, even though the internet confirmation clearly stated 4:30. We grabbed a minivan cab instead, and made it to the Embassy Suites hotel downtown in less than half an hour. Got settled in, ordered Chinese food to be delivered, anticipating a good night sleep. Temperatures over 100 degrees here!

Monday, June 13, 2011 - Drive Day to Boarding Stable, Change of Plans

After waking up to the alarm, we headed out fairly early, with one quick stop for breakfast along the way, before heading out to our pre-arranged destination at a small boarding facility in Maryland. Unfortunately, I thought it was all set, but the owner seemed somewhat surprised to hear from me, and it all went downhill from there. We found the location, and it was almost entirely hilly except right by the house. The owner wasn’t going to be back until 10:00 that night, saying we’ll figure it out in the morning. His brother was on site, trying to get us to set up on a slope, in the pasture where all the horses were roaming around. There was no way I was going to do either, as we had to get out early to fly out in the morning, so I rushed to put together a Plan B, finding another situation on Craigslist. We did manage to find another location just a few miles away, which was not ideal but much better. The propery was being leased by a woman who was then essentially subletting it to boarders, and she had to get special permission to let us keep the RV on the farm. At least it was level and gravelled, so that wasn’t a problem. She also was able to look after the dogs, though she insisted on bringing them over to her house a few miles away to look after them, rather than just coming over to feed and water them twice a day. Whatever, it solved the problem, though it cost me a heck of a lot more than I have ever paid for the same services before. Next time I’ll have a Plan B ready before I get there to avoid this kind of stress. We finally managed to get settled in by about 5:00, though we still hadn’t packed yet for the trip. Fortunately, the flight doesn’t leave until almost 2:00 pm, so we’ll have plenty of time in the morning. The only potential problem might be traffic in Bethesda, which we have to pass through, as the U.S. Open Golf Tournament is on this weekend. We’ll just have to leave in plenty of time!

Sunday, June 12, 2011 - Second Ride Day in Gandy Creek

What a day! Despite assurances from the ranger that the trails here were suitable for horses, I wouldn’t recommend it until they’ve brought a crew with some chain saws for some serious heavy lifting! It started out innocently enough. The loop we planned was shorter than what we had taken on Friday, about 10 miles, so we figured it would take us about 3 ½ to 4 hours, including our lunch break. We brought oats for the horses and headed up the Mylius trail again to get to the crossroads. Fortunately, some nice hiker had cut down the branches that had tripped us up last time, so that made it easier, but with all the rain (it rained again last night), it was more slippery than ever. By now, though, the horses had learned to be more careful. Oh, I forgot to mention that Hubby’s mare Clio had lost one of her boots the other day, so we were looking out for it on the way up, and fortunately, we spotted it on the trail and managed to pick it up. He had an old one he had put on for the day, and we were double checking very regularly to make sure we didn’t lose any more. Anyway, we arrived at the crossroads, passing straight through the campsite to continue on Mylius trail. It immediately started going back downhill slightly, with lots of rhododendron bushes starting to crowd the trail. Then it opened up into a beautiful pine forest with a nice wide trail, and we were really loving it. Eventually, the trail led us down to Otter Creek, than followed along the creek for some time. Most of it was nice, but a few areas were so thick with mountain laurel (which were in beautiful bloom) and rhododendrons, it became pretty hard to pass through. The worse was a section that was like a tunnel. It was captivating to be in the middle of it, and would have been incredibly striking for a hiker, but it was just too low in some places for a rider. We had to get down and walk through several sections just to save our heads. If that was our only complaint, it would have been fine, but things got worse later. We went for several beautiful and uneventful miles, following the creek, listening to it’s wonderful babbling, before finally reaching the Condon Run trailhead, at about our halfway point. We found the other trail that led us out of there to the rest of the loop, the Hedrick Camp cutoff. We stopped there for lunch, feeling wonderful and enjoying the ride immensely. Despite warnings the trails weren’t very well marked, we had had no trouble pinpointing where we were, and the rock cairns always seemed to appear just when you started having doubts. After a lunch break, we headed off to finish off the rest of the loop, just a bit behind schedule because of the sections where we had to walk, and one hat diversion where Hubby had to backtrack to find his missing hat that had been pulled off on a low branch. Again, we managed to find the turnoffs with no problem, and began climbing Shaver Mountain. Alas, it started to rain, and we stopped and got out our ponchos, then, at Apollo’s suggestion, we waited under a very thick pine tree for a bit while the heaviest rain passed through. Once it thinned out to almost stopping, we headed out again, beginning our long climb up the mountain That’s when the real trouble started. It began with some downed trees across the trail, not a big deal generally, but the trees got larger and harder to traverse, then there were sections where three, four, five trees had fallen on top of each other, making it impossible to get over, and always at a place in the trail where it was very difficult to get around it, though we always managed it after considerable thought and effort. Then the trail started seriously climbing, with a good grade and some 350 degree switchbacks. We must have stepped over 200 trees by the time we leveled off near the top. My horse was sick and tired of stepping over high, thick logs, and the low logs were so commonplace, it seemed they were practically every other step. It’s hard enough climbing that hard, much less climbing and stepping to boot. Then, finally, we almost took a wrong turn because the rock cairn was right at what appeared to be a fork, but we didn’t know which fork. We started off to the left, because that was the high road and I figured the low trail might have been washed away, but that soon petered out. We turned around and came back, and took the low road. Now, bear in mind that we had already completed about 90 percent of the loop, figuring we were only about a mile from the original crossroads campsite. As we headed down the low road, about 100 feet down, on a trail that had a steep dropoff to the right and a mountain to the left, covered with thick rhododendrons on both sides, we suddenly came across a tree across the trail, about 10 inches in diameter. Too heavy to move, it was just about at shoulder height, so it was impossible to go under it or over it or around it. I dismounted and walked further down the trail, trying to reconnoiter a way to get around it, and it seemed nearly impossible. Well, since going back the way we came was not an option, we turned around and took the high road again, this time looking for a definitive way to get back to the trail, post-tree. This required another cross country trek, followed by a precipitous passage through several thick pine trees, and a quick turn to keep from falling off the mountain altogether. We were not happy campers by this point, now a good two hours behind schedule. We continued along the trail, and other than more and more trees to step over, and a few moments when the rock cairns had taken a hiatus, and that final mile lasting twice as long as we thought it would, we FINALLY arrived back at the crossroads, heaving a big sigh of relief that we managed to not break anyone’s legs in the process. I can’t believe how good these horses are, they are such incredible troopers! Needless to say, we rested there for quite some time, letting them graze all the grass they could stuff in their faces, as they had used up the oats we had given them at lunch LONG AGO! After everyone caught their breath and had their fill of grass (well, at least completed a full pass of all the grass available), we headed slowly down Mylius trail, which was even more slippery than ever because of the rain we had had earlier.  Finally make it to the bottom, a good two and half hours later than we had anticipated, but at least we made it safe and sound, at last. Not happy about the condition of the trails or the misleading information that led us here, but they would be truly lovely trails with just a bit of maintenance. Next time we come this way, we’ll try Johnny Meadows, which is apparently where most of the horse campers go, since the trails are more likely to be better maintained as a result. At least, we hope so!

Saturday, June 11, 2011 - Rest Day In Monongahela

Slept as late as we could, past 9:30, when the hungry horses nickered us awake. Spent the day quietly, napping, reading, watching movies, generally relaxing, which we both needed. It had rained again the night before, and we had a few more showers during the day, but the temps were perfect and we had nothing to complain about! Planned our ride for tomorrow, and went to be ready to get up early and take another trail ride!

Friday, June 10, 2011 - Anniversary and Ride Day

While Hubby wasn’t looking yesterday, I managed to slip out of the store with an anniversary card in celebration of our 22nd (and second since we started horse camping), and left it for him on the breakfast table while I fed the horses. When I walked in, he said, "I guess it’s June 10?" He’d lost track of the days (no surprise there) and gave me a big hug and kiss in remembrance. Not unusual, we aren’t in the habit of giving gifts for any holiday, so it was a typical celebration for us. Anyway, we were going to spend the day doing our favorite thing, riding! We had had a terrific thunderstorm the night before, lots of lightning and rain coming down in sheets just after we went to be, though fortunately there wasn’t any wind (or we were so protected from it that we didn’t notice it), and we didn’t even have to put up or awning. The horses got a good shower, and none of the lightning was so close as to be too frightening. After breakfast we saddled up, raring to go under a perfectly clear blue sky and perfect temps in the upper 60’s on their way to low 70’s. We headed out to do some basic exploring today, starting with backtracking on the road to the entrance of Mylius trail, a lovely old grass road that soon began climbing. We passed several clearings that were obviously old homesteads from 100 years ago, until the road finally narrowed to a ridge-hugging trail that was a bit slippery from the previous night’s rain. As we neared the top, a small tree had fallen across the road at such a height that my horse thought he could go under it, even though I couldn’t. I tried to move the limb as I got closer, but it was too heavy. Too committed on the narrow trail, Apollo kept going forward while I leaned back like a limbo, trying to get under it. How I got under it with only a few scraps I’ll never know. I know my spine was laying along his back, and near the end I was along the side of his hindquarters like a trick rider. I thought I was going to fall out of my saddle, but just managed to clear the tree, grab onto the horn and haul myself up before it was too late. I strongly urged Hubby to get off and walk his mare under (she’s a tiny bit shorter, but still over 15.1 hands) and he did, but then the saddle horn got caught and she almost lost her balance as Hubby grabbed it and managed to get it loose just in time. Scary! There were a few more slippery spots along the way, all the time being grateful that horses have four-wheel drive! We finally made it to the crossroads, just under two miles up, and rested the horses, letting them graze on fresh grass in the clearing. It had been fixed up as a camping area, with a well-used fire ring, and all the trails had rock cairns at their heads to clearly mark this first intersection. Having seen it, and knowing what was in store for us for our "longer" ride tomorrow, we headed back down the same trail, my horse being more cautious now that he knew how slippery it was. Once we reached the bottom and headed back up the road toward camp, we decided we hadn’t had enough, and headed out on what started out as a cleary marked alternate forest road, albeit grassy, with no motor vehicles allowed. According to the map, it was just a couple of miles until it looped back to the road just past where we were camped, looking deceptively simple. It started out beautifully, with a much gentler grade, though it was a bit more gravelly in spots. Nevertheless, we got in some trots and canters, thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Eventually, the trail became more and more narrow, until it was barely a trail anymore, but we had never seen any turnoffs to the right, so we kept going until the trail started to get wider, then turn into a road, then pass through a gate, then start to pass private property and buildings and houses. We knew we had come too far, and were getting way off track, so we turned around and heading back, looking for that turnoff we missed. Finally we came to a clearing that seemed to have tracks on it, so we followed those for a while, along an unused trail that followed a creek down the mountain. It seemed to be a beeline for the bottom, which is just what we wanted, but the further we went the less traveled the trail became, until we were blocked by trees and forces to go cross country down a deer trail. That led us back to the same creek, I guess, and then the trail disappeared again. Although I knew we were heading in the right direction, and would eventually run into either the Forest Road or Gandy Creek, I wasn’t sure if we hadn’t gotten on the wrong side of a big ridge I knew was there, so my fingers were crossed! Then, thankfully, I heard the sound of children’s voices, and a few minutes later, a vehicle starting up, so I knew we had to be close. Just as we were threading through the thickest part of the underbrush, the road suddenly appeared just below us, and with a little maneuvering, we landed safely on it. We turned right to head back toward camp, which, thankfully, was less than a mile away! By now, we were exhausted, the horses were tired, but brilliant and unhurt (they are SO good!), and we finally made our way back to camp, arriving after 6:00. By the time we got the horses watered and fed and we got ourselves settled in, it was past 7:00, WAY later than we like to get back. But, we made it, that’s the important thing. We decided to take tomorrow off and ride on Sunday. With no satellite and no cell phone signal, we watched PVR’s movies and shows, and crashed early, exhausted. No alarms for tomorrow!

Thursday, June 9, 2011 - Travel Day to Monongahela National Forest

Hit the road fairly early, again trying to beat the heat of the day. Made a quick stop for breakfast on the way, then straight east on 64, then north on I-79 until our exit. Stopped the the Tractor Supply for oats and few sundries, then decided to skip our planned Walmart stop in favor of a Kroger that was next to the Tractor Supply. It didn’t have all we had hoped, but enough for the weekend. Stopped at the Headquarters for the forest to get some maps and a bit more information, though once again, the office folks don’t get out much, and weren’t very helpful about specifics. I had had a long conversation with a ranger in the district where we were heading, and he recommended the Grady Creek area. It’s not generally known as a horse area, but he insisted the horse area would be so crowded, even on a Thursday, that we might have trouble getting our vehicles in comfortably, and that Grady Creek was suitable, so off we went. It wasn’t too far out of the way, and in fact, was in almost a direct line when we would be leaving, so it seemed the perfect place. After a long and scary twisty downhill ride on County Road 12, we made a sharp turn to the left on Forest Road 162, which was a reasonably maintained gravel road, except for a few notable sections when the potholes were too plentiful to miss. I guess I misunderstood the ranger, I thought he had told me there was an area at the end of the road that was a campground, but instead there was simply dispersed camping all along the Forest Road, which paralleled the creek. We went all the way to the end, only to discover a small cul-de-sac that was just barely large enough for me to turn around. Having seen all the spots coming in, we selected one near a clearing that was a turnout (of which there were several along that road, leading to vault toilets), just on a corner. There was some gravel there, although not completely graveled, but we were close to the creek access and there were several good trees from which to highline, so we got busy and got settled in. The BEST, most immediately relief was from the heat! We were now at a considerably higher altitude, and the temperature was a good 15 plus degrees cooler than it had been, thank goodness! We got the horses watered and highlined, didn’t even bother with the satellite dish as there was a mountain and a forest between us and the satellite signal, and we had the awning up and the lawn chairs out in no time. We really set up a nice cozy corner for ourselves, and were really looking forward to our ride tomorrow!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011 - Second Ride Day at Carter Caves

Got up slowly after the alarm went off, had breakfast, then called the office just after 9:00 to try to find out more about the "new" trail. The girl who answered gave me some basic instructions, but it seemed a bit iffy, as she didn’t really know about it, she was just repeating what she had been told, so my questions went essentially unanswered. Then, out of nowhere, the manager and another woman showed up asking is we were the ones who had called the office about a new trail, and of course we answere "Yes", so he proceed to tell us all about this new trail. They had apparently been working on it a while, and had just completed marking it (in blue paint) the previous day. He explained in more detail how to find and follow it, and was extraordinarily helpful. It makes such a difference when management is horse-friendly! This guy was actually a horse rider, and we remembered seeing him on a tall, striking palomino the evening before, taking a spin around the campground. After a very pleasant and informative discussion (he was very grateful and responsive to our concerns about the negatives of the campground as well), we finally headed off, now a bit later than we had intended, so the day was heating up quickly. We set out going in the same direction as yesterday until the blue trail cutoff, which we had noticed the day before but had ignored because it wasn’t on the map, which had been cleared by a small bulldozer. Kudos to the Cat driver, though, he/she did an excellent job of clearing the trail without tearing up the ground for the most part. The markings were easy to follow, and though the trail was still very raw, with lots of baby trees still apparent in the middle of the trail, it was a wonderful ride, again, with some grades, some following and crossing the creek, some deciduous forest, some pines. It’s going to be a fabulous trail once it gets some more use on it. There was only a couple of places where we almost missed a switchback, or it got too muddy, but nothing that was in any way treacherous for the horses. The manager said it was about 3.2 miles long, which was just about perfect for a short ride today after our unexpectedly long ride yesterday, Only problem was when we got back to camp, the highline was still in full sunlight, so we decided to stay in the woods for a little longer, following a small loop that partially backtracked on the Kiser Hollow Loop we had taken yesterday. That killed another half hour, so the highline was just on the edge of the shade now, and would only get better as time went on, so we came back in, settled in the horses (letting them eat some of the new grass nearby for a while, as a treat), then spent the afternoon working on the computer, reading, doing a bit of laundry (why not, we had a full hookup, might as well use it!) And generally doing our best to stay cool. Hubby took a nap, and I think I nodded off in my recliner for a while as well. It’s been a very nice stay here, despite the high price, but we would really have been suffering without electric to run the A/C, so once again, we were in the right place at the right time, as the heat wave had enveloped the entire eastern half of the country (it was even over 100 degrees in Minneapolis!), so there was not escape. Researched our next stop, made some phone calls, and decided to head out to the Glady Creek area of the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia, which would be a good halfway point from here in Kentucky to our next confirmed destination near Washington DC in Maryland. Another early night, setting the alarm once again for an early departure.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - Ride Day at Carter Caverns

After a slow, hot start in the morning, we started debating whether it was too hot to ride. My feeling was it would be cooler in the forest for the horses rather than standing in the hot sun, and eventually Hubby agreed, so we set out saddling and were on the trail by about 11:30. We just can’t believe how hot it is for this time of year, once again following the pattern that whereever we are, there’s some kind of record temperatures going on, either hot or cold. Anyway, I was right once again, it was cooler in the forest. We followed the Kiser Hollow Trail, which was essentially a perimeter trail around the western part of the park. It was a lovely trail! Almost all just dirt and leaves, nothing too mucky, only a few short-lived rocky areas and a brief section that skirted the forest so that we were out in the sun again, but soon we were back in the forest, heading down toward the creek, where thankfully it was even cooler (relatively speaking!). It was a wonderful mixed deciduous forest, intermittent pines and lots of oaks and sassafras and so on. After having spent so many miles of flat terrain, it was a pleasure to finally have some grade as we first descended down to the fork in the trail, then followed the cool creek for some time, then ascended again, fairly gradually with just a few steeper moments. All around a lovely ride. We came out across the street from the riding stable, then followed the trail around the horse camp to our camping spot. We realized that we had gone the entire length of the Kiser Hollow Trail, with was over 10 miles, a bit longer than we had anticipated, but it was so nice we didn’t really mind. Fortunately by the time we got back the highline was in shade for the horses, and thankfully, the A/C had kept the RV cool for the dogs while we were gone. After sweating like pigs putting the horses away, we finally collapsed in our recliners in the cool inside air, waiting to recover before settling down for dinner and a movie in the evening. Unfortunately, the forecast is calling for even hotter temps tomorrow, so it looks like we’ll be getting up earlier to try to avoid the worst of the heat. Hubby took one quick trip to the ranger station for a version of their trail map so that we can compare it to what I already had off the internet. Turned out to be a terrible map, hard to read, faint, small print, pretty bad. The only piece of new information, sadly, was that the trail we had taken today was the only official equestrain trail in the park! We had planned on taking a series of longer trails that essentially circled the park, but the new map indicated they were only for hikers. I called the office to question them about it, and they confirmed that the map was correct, that those trails didn’t allow horses. For a moment we thought our only choice for a ride tomorrow was going to be doing the same trail in reverse, but then the woman said a new horse trail had just been cut, and that we needed to speak with the manager in the morning. Looking forward to that conversation! Went to be at a reasonable time, with the alarm set early.

Monday, June 6, 2011 - Travel Day to Carter Caves State Park, KY

Welcome to the second most poorly, intentionally-designed horse camp we’ve come across in our travels, second only to the worst, Occoneechee State Park in southern Virginia. Besides being expensive (27 dollars after the senior discount, though it is a full hookup, which is very much surplus to requirement for most horse campers), it is a very dumb layout. The "camp" is basically a parking lot, clearcut, then landscaped after the amenities were put in. There’s a lovely bathhouse that still smells of freshcut lumber, so it’s obviously new. Each site is a pull-through with water, electric and sewer, and wide enough for two vehicles. They’ve planted a few trees in the narrow medians separating the sites, so maybe in 10 or 20 years there will be some shade here. Meanwhile it’s scorching hot on the asphalt and gravel surfaces which make up the bulk of the campground. Across from the sites is a series of strange highline cables, short stretches with rings that don’t give the opportunity to allow the horses to move at all. Then there is a series of planks stretching from one end of the highline to the other, like a fence, or maybe they’re supposed to be a hitching post or something, but the end result is that a horse on a highline has to hang his head over the board as if he were standing in a stall, without the stall around him. Very weird. The worst part is that the footing at the highline is gravel, something no self-respecting horse owner would ever make his horse stand on for hours at a time, much less overnight. So all of the advantages of a highline are destroyed, as the horse can’t lay down, can’t turn around, can’t roll, can’t do any natural horse stuff at all, which is what is usually nice about a highline! Well, needless to say, we weren’t about to make our horses suffer like that, so we instead strung our own highline along the perimeter of the campground, which was all forest. Along the edge was some high grass, so the horses were happy munching fresh greens for a while. We had to roll out the long hose to fill their buckets, but we soon had them settled in. It was so hot again that the first thing we did was get the electric hooked up and the A/C going in order to get the RV cooled down. It wasn’t long before we were all set up, satellite dish and all, and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening. There is one other site being used at the other end of the campground, by a group with at least four Paso Finos, who went out for a ride just before sunset. We figure there must be a good sunset point for folks to be going out at that time of the evening, or else they went because it had been too hot during the day and waited for it to cool down. Whatever, we’re planning on riding tomorrow, hoping that the shade of the woods will be cooler, and to getting out earlier in the day than is our habit (but not holding our breath :-)... It may be an ugly campground, but we’re holding out hope that the trails and the park are nicer.

Sunday, June 5, 2011 - Second Ride Day at Barren Fork

Once again, all good intentions didn’t get us out of the campground before 11:00, so we left hoping (in vain, as it turned out) that the other trail had more shade than Friday’s trail did. No such luck. Once again, we were in the blazing sun most of the way. The horses were still a bit antsy, and at one point they must have smelled a bear or something, they stopped short and tried to wheel around and run away, but we finally settled them down enough to carry on. They had done the same thing once on the last ride, too, not surprising since this is bear country. We did manage to get in some lovely trots and a few canters, with Hubby especially please with himself for getting his mare into a very nice rocking lope for an extended while. That section of trail was only three miles, so we were back on the road to the campground in no time, but we were sweating again like crazy. We decided to go down to the Barren Fork Cemetary, the last remnants of the mining town that thrived here from 1880’s until union strikes in the 1930’s put it out of business. The cemetary dates back to the 1850’s, with some "residents" having been born in the very early 1800’s. Hard to imagine just how much life has changed since then. Anyway, we tied the horses under a shady tree and meandered around for a bit, before finally heading back to the campground. Despite forecasts for rain, there still wasn’t a cloud in the sky when we got back about 1:00, and the heat was incredible. It started to cloud up around 4:00, so, we covered the hay and put up the awning, hoping for a great squall that would bring the temperature down to something sleepable.

Saturday, June 4, 2011- Relaxing Day

We spent the day relaxing, watching TV while I kept crocheting away. We’ll give my design tomorrow when we ride again, hoping to get out early enough to avoid the worst part of the heat of the day. Traffic began by 6 am this morning, apparently there’s a kid’s fishing derby at a pond they stocked on the far side of the campground, so lots of traffic all morning. BTW, while there were other campers, none of them had horses, and in fact, most of the sites here, though fully equipped to handle horses, hadn’t seen any horse traffic in a long, long time. Managed to finish off two fly masks which look like they may do the trick, though I suspect I’ll discover flaws that will need to be reworked on my next attempt. Maintenance guys came out once more to work on the spigot, managed to fill the buckets up once before it quit again. Not figuring on seeing them the rest of the weekend, so I drove the horse trailer, with the water drum in back, down to the maintenance area, but it was locked up, so we ended up going down to a working spigot further along the campground road, where we had to fill the drum one bucket at a time, a strenuous exercise in the heat that took us half an hour. At least we’ll have enough to last us the weekend, though.

Friday, June 3, 2011 - Ride Day at Barren Fork

On the trail by about 11:00, a bit later than we wanted, but sleeping late to recover was equally important. The trail map was very vague about where the trailhead was, so we wandered a bit before finally finding the trail we wanted. We have hoped to combine the two loops coming out of the campground into one 7+ mile ride, but most of the trail was in the sun, just along the edge of where they had clearcut everything on the top of the mountain. The perimeter trail offered no view of any kind, no shade, and was a pretty ugly ride. They had done nothing to replant the area, so it was all short scrub mixed deciduous post cutting waste. Too short to offer any shade, and just plain ugly. The horses were frisky from their layoff, and there were biting flies that were making them rather fidgety as well, so it seemed a lot of the time we were battling all kinds of elements. By the time we finished the first half of the loop, we had had enough. With sweat dripping from us, we trotted (just to create our own breeze, as there was none at all along the trail) back up the dirt road, which was the shortest way back to the campground, where we arrived about 2:00. It was good to be back on horseback, but a below average ride as things go. Spent the remainder of the afternoon trying to design a crocheted fly mask to help keep the biting flies off the horses’ ears in future. Meanwhile, the maintenance guys had come out again to work on the spigot, and left sure that it was fixed. Not so, unfortunately, again it petered out after just a few minutes. Lots of traffic again, some as late as after midnight, making sleep intermittent.

Thursday, June 2, 2011 - Rest Day!

Seemed like all the preparation effort has taken it’s toll on us. We crashed today, much like after we’ve facilitated a very intense workshop or a particularly grueling job. Spent the day reading, watching movies and generally relaxing as much as possible. Still seems like a lot of traffic going in and out, and where we are situated, we hear them coming and going, even though it’s a loop around the campground. Maintenance did come out a work on the spigot, and thought they had if fixed, but it didn’t last long. Managed to fill the water buckets once before it gave out. They came out again, worked on it some more, and again, it worked for about two minutes before giving up the ghost. Glad I got water in the drum for the horses! Very hot today, and the horses are drinking a lot because of it. No surprise, where we believed we were at the right latitude for the calender to keep us in the 70’s, they’re having record heat in the 90’s, coming close to 100, earlier than they’ve had since records have been kept. Figures. Hoping to find shade on the trails tomorrow!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011 - Departure Day!!

After weeks of backbreaking labor, we, at last, hit the road again, and not a moment too soon for any of us. While the dogs may have enjoyed being home, the horses were so bored they were neighing at the horse trailer every time they saw it, and Hubby and I were just about going stir crazy. The good news is that we are leaving feeling more organized with our convoy and happier about the condition we are leaving the house than on any trip we’ve ever taken. We’ve lined up someone to keep the yard tamed while we are gone, and a pest control service to keep the mice in check, both of which we hope will make our next return home a lot easier, regardless of when we might return. We headed out by just after 10:00, stopped once at the Pilot in Crossville, TN, and arrived at our destination, the Barren Fork Horse Camp in the Daniel Boone National Forest before 4:00 local time, having lost an hour moving into the Eastern Time zone. Took us a bit longer to get set up than we had imagine, primarily because of the silly water system they have here. Although there are half a dozen water spigots scattered throughout the nicely appointed campground, none of them had any threads on them, so we couldn’t fill up the RV tank the way we usually do. To make matters more difficult, the spigots didn’t have a handle that turned on, but a push button that you have to push to keep the water running. We found a nice spot where Hubby could get a satellite signal, was level, and right across the road from a water spigot. In order to to speed things up, I drove back to the ranger station and managed to persuade the guys in maintenance to let me use their long hose to fill up the RV and the 55 gallon water drum we use for the horses (which we almost talked ourselves into not bringing, but figured if we didn’t, we’d surely need it, though not this early on the trip!). By the time I got back, Hubby had got the horses up on the high lines, which was a steel cable strung between posts already provided. It was a good thing I got water, because we soon realized the water spigot across from us didn’t work properly. It was supposed to keep dishing out water as long as you had the button pushed, but it didn’t. It petered out after about ten seconds, then you had to wait another ten second before pushing again brought up more water. This was going to be a challenge! We flagged down a passing maintenance guy, who essentially told us to call the office in the morning. So far, every question I had asked anyone associated with the park had been met with the universal response of "I have no idea," even simple questions like, are the trails rocky, and, have the rains damaged the trails. Seems no one leaves the office or the road, or is the least bit curious about anything beyond their immediate job. Our tax dollars at work. Anyway, I don’t suppose we should complain, since it’s only costing us $3 a night with Hubby’s Golden Age Passport. Seemed like a lot of traffic coming in and out, and there’s a train a few miles away that we can hear every time an engine passes. Don’t think it’s going to be the quiet getaway we were hoping for... Oh, well, as long as we get a couple of rides in, we’ll be happy!